Thursday, March 24, 2016

Are the Smiley Face Killers Back?

On March 15, an article appeared in the
Boston Globe that began: “State
Police on Tuesday pulled the body of a 22-year-old Central Massachusetts man
from the Charles River, ending a desperate search by family members and
officials after he went missing last month while celebrating his birthday at a
bar in Boston.”

The
name of the young man was Zachary Marr. He was a student at Mount Wachusett
Community College. As soon as I saw
this, I wondered if perhaps his death signaled a return of the fabled Smiley
Face Killers gang.I described the conflicting
theories about the group in my not-yet-published book “The Saga of Smiley” in a
chapter called “The Smiley Face Murders, the Happy Face Killer and O. J.
Simpson.”(Last month I posted about O. J.’s “suicide letter’ which he signed with a Smiley Face
symbol.)

Here’s
the section I wrote about the Smiley Face Killers:

As much as he may embody the phrase “don’t
worry, be happy,” Smiley has sometimes been used as a symbol of the dark
underside of society, appearing as an anti-hero in music, movies, even comics.
And when it comes to Smiley, life has imitated art, as the happy face has been
co-opted by some evil criminals who are all too real.

Smiley’s most famous link with crime is his
role as an identifying mark left near the spots where the corpses of more than
40 college-aged men were fished out of freezing rivers or lakes during the
decade of 1997-2007.Inevitably, the
unknown instigators of these deaths were referred to in the press and by
investigators as the Smiley Face Killers (SFK for short).

In 1997, when 21-year-old Fordham University
student Patrick McNeill wandered off from a night of bar-hopping in New York
City and was found floating in the Hudson River three weeks later, his death
was ruled a suicide, but his parents refused to believe it.

Five years after that, in a similar tragedy,
University of Minnesota student Chris Jenkins, also 21, was found dead, encased
in the ice of the Mississippi River four months after he vanished from a
Halloween Party. His death, too, was ruled an accidental drowning; yet another
college student who had too much to drink and then fell into a body of water.

But two retired New York police detectives,
who had been investigating a large number of drowned college-age men for years,
considered Jenkins’ body the missing piece in a puzzle that connected at least
40 victims, who, they believed, were victims of a gang.The young men were all found dead in winter
in a body of water after a night of drinking.

Retired detectives Anthony Duarte and Kevin
Gannon were on the track of what could be the biggest serial killing in U.S.
history, which they attributed to a gang they called the Smiley Face Killers. In
many of these cases, Smiley graffiti was found painted on a wall, tree or
sidewalk near the point where each man was believed to have entered the water.

Duarte and Gannon claimed that the Smiley
Face Gang had struck in at least 25 cities in 11 states in the U.S. since about
1997.Virtually all of the 40 victims
were athletic white college males; all were last seen leaving a party or bar
with alcohol in their systems, then found dead in rivers or streams. Many
attended colleges along the Interstate 94 corridor in the Midwest—in Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Iowa–and in 22 cases, a Smiley graffiti was scrawled nearby.Each death had been ruled accidental by
police.

Jenkins’ corpse convinced the detectives that
his death was not accidental, because, when his frozen body was dredged from the
Mississippi, his hands were folded across his chest in an odd pose that they
said was inconsistent with an accidental drowning.

The parents of each of the 40 victims were
convinced their sons had not died accidentally.The press played up the story and detectives Gannon andDuarte appeared on television to
discuss their theory.“We believe they
[the killers] were specifically leaving a clue for us or anyone who was paying
attention to these drownings,” Detective Gannon told ABC’s “Good Morning
America.” He added that these were almost perfect crimes because the water
washed away physical evidence.

In life, as on Law and Order, serial killers often like to leave a calling card,
and criminologists told ABCNEWS.com that the sadistic Smiley is an example of
the kind of signature typically left by psychopathic killers who derive sexual
arousal from their killings and are so proud of their murders that they’ll do
anything they can to get credit for them.

But Smiley aside, not everyone was convinced
there was a pattern here. Police forces investigating the deaths disputed the
“Smiley Face Gang” theory that the deaths were linked.Criminal profiler Pat Brown scoffed that the
Smiley faces found near the water were nothing more than coincidences.“It’s not an unusual symbol,” she said to a
reporter for a Minneapolis paper.“If you
look in an area five miles square, I bet you could find a smiley face.”

On
April 29, 2008, the F.B.I. issued a statement “regarding Midwest river deaths”
which said in part:The
FBI has reviewed the information about the victims provided by two retired
police detectives, who have dubbed these incidents the “Smiley Face Murders,” …
we have not developed any evidence to support links between these tragic deaths
or any evidence substantiating the theory that these deaths are the work of a
serial killer or killers. The vast majority of these instances appear to be
alcohol-related drownings.

Their word may be law, but in this case, the
FBI’s statement was not the final pronouncement on the Smiley Murders. On June
21, 2008, ABC News reported that Bill Szostak, whose son was found in the
Hudson River, had written a
petition aimed at getting elected leaders to call on the FBI to investigate not
only his son's death, but also 43 similar cases in nine states; college men
whose deaths had been ruled accidental drownings. He got 900 signatures on his
petition the first day.

The FBI has not reopened their
investigation, but parents of possible “Smiley Face” victims still maintain a
number of web sites that post information about the nearly 100 young men who
have died in similar circumstances.These sites include a Facebook page called “the Smiley Face Killers,”
which on April 24, 2013, posted an article from the Daily Mail saying that, “Police found the body of Brown student
Sunil Tripathi, falsely accused of being the Boston Marathon bomber, in the
Providence River in Boston.”

And just last week, a statement posted on
the Smiley Face Killers Facebook page read:

March 15th, 2016, the
body of Zach Marr, age 22, was pulled from the Charles River in Boston
Massachusetts. Zach went missing on February 13th, 2016, and the circumstances
are all too familiar. Zach was "Last Seen leaving the Bell in Hand Tavern,
where he was hanging out with friends and family" only to disappear into
the night without warning. One month later, his lifeless body is pulled from
the river. We see the pattern time and time again, young male, out with
friends, dead in water. Marr was a student at Mount Wachusett Community
College, and Zach deserved a lot more out of a life that was cut short by the Smiley Face Killers. RIP Zach Marr.

47 comments:

Look at the missing student at the university of Minnesota. Just found last week in the river after being reported missing for 3 or 4 weeks. This is very real, and I believe it is a network or now copycat.

I just started doing some research on this and I'm beginning to wonder if this indeed something to be taking seriously. Only a couple of weeks ago, a young 23 year old went missing in the Old Port here in Portland, Maine. I had seen posters of him. He was just pulled from the Portland harbor and on New Year's another young male in his 20s disappeared in Old Port and they pulled his body from the Portland harbor a few months ago. Both were last seen leaving bars and then weren't seen again. Both fit the profile of white males in their 20s. Either someone is copy catting or it is starting back up again. I don't understand why this isn't being investigated more.

The police will not admit that there are connections or a serial killer(s). That would cause public panic and hinder their investigation. If I were a gambling man, I would bet that the authorities are searching for SFK.

I'm quite sure they're not all related. But I remember reading about 1 of these murders and the young man had called a friend and said he was being chased and was hiding. He was found drowned shortly after. Definitely suspicious at the least.

There has to be something in Common other than the fact they were young males.someone knows something or someone witnessed something odd and suspected something .maybe a killer female cult gang(a network of freak gals) in my life (even drunk to the point of blacking out)have decided to take a swim in a freezing river after drinking.ever! The guy who called on the phone and said someone is chasing him through the woods,then ended up a drowning victim.that contact is very vital clue.this is way to creepy of coincidences to ignore investigating.

There has to be something in Common other than the fact they were young males.someone knows something or someone witnessed something odd and suspected something .maybe a killer female cult gang(a network of freak gals) in my life (even drunk to the point of blacking out)have decided to take a swim in a freezing river after drinking.ever! The guy who called on the phone and said someone is chasing him through the woods,then ended up a drowning victim.that contact is very vital clue.this is way to creepy of coincidences to ignore investigating.

Due the Math dummy-- (On Minnesota cases alone) *NO WAY* DO 2 MEN, EVERY YEAR -under 40yrs Old- ALWAYS LEAVING BARS, WEDDING'S, etc. DECIDE TO JUMP IN RIVERS (sometimes Pond's) BETWEEN LATE SEPTEMBER through JANUARY (95% of the time).. Get out of hear!***FACTS***Look at this, within the Last 2 Years alone as og now 3 SIMILAR Late Night SFK. abductions are as follows---2015 Joseph Brunn leaves Otsego/Elk River Hotel/Wedding magically disappears & OF COURSE - 5 DAYS LATER Found in the Mississippi River..Than in May/June Aaron Thomas Pigeon goes missing from Grand Forks Bar & guess what 3 Days Later body found in Red River.... Now 2016 (early November), Almost to the day; ANOTHER MAN Joseph Hernandez has gone missing- SAME SCENARIO!!! Last scene in Mendota Heights Leaving A Hotel/Wedding..**Point being**What do you wanna bet J.Hernandez is found in A River within 5 Days ?????

Crunch the Numbers, EVERY YEAR, since Like 1999 In Minnesota TWO MEN (minimal) GO MISSING EXACT SAME COINCIDENCE'S EVERY YEAR !!! An the First always disappears before Christmas. If this were just happen stance; upwards of 90% would go "Jump in Rivers" when it's Nice out!Because In MN it's Cold from September 15 to April 15 (barring A brief Indian Summer).. E.g. It's Cold 55-45 degrees or less, thus people aren't walking around by Rivers as much..NO WAY WOULD THIS JUST HAPPEN BY CHANCE. Like I said there would be more of this happening in the Summer, when MORE people are walking to & fro, BUT ITS NOT! THIS Disappearnce/ River Death (abduction) rate -for almost Two Decades now- Favors the winter? That's BACKWARDS- consistently, MEANING [X] that "Something" has been injected into the equation. An X-Factor = SFK ...Copy-cat or Not they're 100% real..

Check-out even more mysterious past cases Like 'Jelani Bronson' or 'Dan Zamlin' ALL THE SAME & ALWAYS IN MINNESOTA !!!

We have had several young men come up missing here in iowa to only find there lifeless bodies floating in the Mississippi River. one boy still remains missing since 2008. Something isn't right, I think some one is doing it. Just men are found drowned not women.

One in Pittsburgh recently: Paul Kochu went missing December 16 and wasn't found until March 20th of the following year down river in West Virginia.

There is currently another college student missing, Dakota James, who was last seen on surveillance leaving a bar after being refused service for being too intoxicated. Wonder where they will find him?

Dakota james' body was found in the Ohio River close to Robinson and neville island this morning about 30 feet out from a dock...his body was identified but a medical examiner...now just waiting for an autopsy report to find out cause of death..nothing was said on the news if there were any physical injuries on that were noticed right away to maybe offer smell kind of explanation on what was the cause of death if any foul play was involved...there has been mentioned a few times in comments about his death of a possible serial killer...also a male nurse in pittsburgh went missing and then his body was found in a river I think just last year..I could be wrong on the timing of that though, I just remember the story..it's just odd that collage students are going missing and then their bodies are found floating in that river a month or so later..all around the same age....

And here goes your theory kaycn, Dallas was found this morning, how heartbreaking, honesty after ready this i def have my suspicions, this is all way too shady for me, definitely something going on. And then when Paul kochu went missing there was another young man missing and found too , so that's two there that year and now Dakota I mean yea I'm scared. This needs to be taken way more seriously

Also a week before Dakota was found, a young black male who had been missing for months was found in the river. They are not the first two here in Pittsburgh. There have been many in the last few years.

Just today, a Duquesne student was found dead in the Ohio River after reported missing in January. Just 2 wks ago, police and cadaver dogs searched where he was found. He was last seen out with friends. Strong, young men do not simply wash up in rivers.

Now they found dakota james, also a young collage student ,his body was found in the river just a few days ago after missing for a month ,so very sad, the ppl trying to better their life and they get snatched and killed, for what? Coos need to handle this

Paul Kochu, missing from Pittsburgh, December 2014, located 3 months later in the Ohio River March 2015. Cause of death -- accidental drowning. Where he left his Wharton St. residence was approximately 2 miles from where Dakota James was last seen in Katz Plaza. These cases don't look coincidental to me.

I have been noticing so many misisng persons and they end up im the river .. way too many. Way too many. Last thing i would do being under the influence was go anywhere near water.. and its beyond me why no one is paying attention or causing any attention to it. I dont know why i dont hear anything on colleges trying to help the situation even if its suicide or SFK. I think colleges, all kids college age should video themselves and also write it down on legal stamped paper saying they would never commit suicide / jump off a bridge/ jump in water/ etc or go by water when drinking especially in cold winter months. So someone can rule stupid coroners and police statements on what they think. Some thought on my theory is its a gang initiation thing. They have to murder to get into these gangs. The best way to get inititated and to be trusted is to kill someone and also without any hot heat is to go after drunk white college kids. As crazy as it sounds they are easy targets when so drunk / intoxicated .. they are easily controlled. Same reason serial killers target vagabond prostitues and runaways. No one knows there whereabouts. Etc. Also, many new gangs in USA the past 20 years and since its all over in Mostly northeastern cities /. Cold winter city's death percentage is 99.9% i read somewhere before a kid came to an area in a fenced off lake and survived. Its crazy, sad, bizarre, strange, & confusing all at the same time.

This is another suspicious St. Cloud Death back in December. "He was with friends and then left with a group of men he had met while at the bar." They say he died of "Cold Temperatures and Intoxication"... If you look at the weather that day, the Max was 39 degrees, mean 33ish degrees and the low was around 19 degrees. That is not cold for us here.. Oh, and a bridge over the Mississippi is a little over a mile away from the last place seen.

Well, multiple young men have died this way in West Virginia. Just to name a few there was a man in his twenties found in a creek at a camping sight in Bluebend. A few years later there was a man found floating around the river (of Bluebend) dead. This kind of scares me because my family goes camping and swimming there quite often. Hopefully those we're just accidents.

In 1963, Harvey Ball created the smiley face.. He was employed by State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts (now known as Hanover Insurance) to create a happy face to raise the morale of the employees.

Worcester, Massachusetts is less then 50 miles from Boston, Massachusetts...

A Rolling Crone

After 40 years as a journalist, I turned 60 and decided to return to my first love--painting. I’ve exhibited watercolors and photographs in Massachusetts and have a slide show of paintings below. My photo book “The Secret Life of Greek Cats” can be purchased by clicking on the cover below.
I collect way too many things, but my great passion is antique photographs, from the earliest—daguerreotypes (circa 1840) up to 1900 (cabinet cards, tintypes.) I approach each one as a mystery to solve, and in unlocking their secrets have met some fascinating historic figures. For some of the stories, check the list of “The Story Behind the Photograph”.
My husband Nick and I live in Grafton, MA and recently celebrated our 41st anniversary. We have 3 children, now amazing adults. And on Aug. 26, 2011, we greeted our first grandchild, Amalía-- world’s cutest baby. But this blog isn’t about grandparenting (although photos of the grandkid sneak in). As it says up top, it’s about travel, art, photography and life after sixty. And crone power.